WordPress Is Putting Me Over My CPU Limit
The easy to use, expandable functionality of WordPress makes it a handy tool for designing a website, but its versatility comes at the cost of CPU cycles. Many WordPress features place a high load on your server's processor, causing downtime or requiring a more powerful hosting package. Altering your site's setup to cut back on unnecessary processing will ensure your site stays running under heavy loads.
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Themes
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Installing a custom theme on your WordPress site is a fast way to change its appearance and functionality. Unfortunately, many themes contain a large number of extra processes. These processes quickly use up CPU power when accessed by many visitors at once. When looking to avoid hitting your CPU limit, stick to simpler themes: the fewer fancy effects and modules each page contains, the less power it takes to load the site.
Plugins and Widgets
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Plugins provide WordPress with numerous abilities, but some place an excessive strain on your server's processor. The more widespread the effect of a plugin, the more power it requires. Plugins that automatically generate links to related posts, plugins that auto-post articles and SEO management plugins frequently cause CPU limit problems. Uninstall any plugins you don't need to save on processor time. Widgets such as calendars and clocks also use up CPU power quickly, so remove them when possible.
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Caching
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Caching plugins create static files of your WordPress pages. This vastly decreases the CPU power required to deliver a page to a visitor. Installing a caching plugin, such as WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache, will cut back on your server's load without causing a loss of functionality. Caching plugins must recreate page caches when guests leave comments, so combine caching with an off-site comment system to further reduce power usage. Do not enable compression in your caching plugin, designed to save bandwidth, as this adds a processing step.
Server Upgrade
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If your WordPress site still exceeds your server's CPU limit after making other changes, you will need to upgrade to a more powerful server. If you currently subscribe to shared hosting, moving up to a virtual private server will provide far more leeway for CPU usage. If you already use a VPS or a dedicated server, you will have to move to a higher-tier plan or upgrade your server's components.
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